Idaho Lawmakers say Adults Should be Named Members of Militia

BOISE, Idaho (AP) — Lawmakers fearful the U.S. Supreme Court might one day reverse itself on the issue of individual gun rights aim to change the Idaho Constitution's definition of a militia to include all the state's adults. That way, argued Sen. Jim Rice of Caldwell Wednesday in the Senate State Affairs Committee, the federal government could never swoop in and disarm residents.

Rice wants to put the amendment before voters in the November 2014 election, calling it an important "backstop" to existing protections of individual gun rights. For now, however, he just wants to get people talking about the issue. He says it's surpassed all other matters before the 2013 Idaho Legislature — including the insurance exchange and proposed personal property tax repeal — based on opinions of people who have contacted him.